Guys. A new report says President Trumps two top emergency officials are at each others throats during a hurricane recovery. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Breaking news in the politics lead. Professor Christine Blasey ford wants to testify. In an email to the Senate Judiciary committee fords attorney say they want to discuss the conditions under which ford would testify next week. Her lawyers expressing that professor ford, quote, wishes to testify provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety, but, quote, a hearing on monday is not possible, and the committees insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event. Ford has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s when they were both teenagers. Kavanaugh strongly denies the accusation. Republicans have offered options ranging from her pubically testifying to the prospect of Committee Staff traveling to fords home state of california to privately interview her, but they have also insisted that monday is the day. It is not immediately clear from this email which option ford prefers or will ultimately take. In the midst of all of this, President Trump has said he wants to give this process all the time it needs, but that there should not be any doubt as to whether this happened, but the president has also rejected the need for an fbi investigation which has been called for by professor ford, her attorneys and democrats, and the president has said its hard for him to believe that kavanaugh ever did such a thing. Beyond the allegations of a traumatic Sexual Assault, the context of the politics of all of this are unmistakable. Democrats want to delay this vote as long as they can, so as to protect red state democrats up for reelection and just in case they win back the senate they can push the nomination of kavanaugh back. Republicans, they want to vote as soon as possible despite having held antonin scalias seat open for more than a year so that a republican president could make an appointment. Cnns jeff zeleny is at the white house. How is the white house reacting from this new email from fords attorney saying shes willing to testify next week . Reporter so far weve not heard from the president directly on this on what his reaction to the possibility that she could be testifying next week. We may hear from the president later this hour when he leaves the white house and goes to las vegas for a campaign rally, and he, of course, could mention it tonight at the rally as well. Jake, its just one reason that judge kavanaugh has been here at the white house for the last four days preparing for that public hearing. Were told that hes been talking with officials here. His team of lawyers there going pretty aggressively at questions that could come up all in the possibility that he does face a public hearing on monday and asked to answer questions from his accuser. The Supreme Court confirmation battle of Brett Kavanaugh dramatically intensified today with the woman accusing him of Sexual Assault now saying shes willing to tell her story to the Senate Judiciary committee. She wishes to testify, providing that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety. Lawyers for Christine Blasey ford said in a letter to top senators today, as protests broke out on capitol hill we believe dr. Blasey. If you dont want to be arrested you need to back up. We still believe anita hill. Reporter senators will meet to determine the next steps. Senator charles grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, hoped to schedule a public hearing on monday, but fords lawyers said today that was too soon. A hearing on monday is not possible and the committees insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event, fords lawyers wrote. The Supreme Court fight is now a waawash in uncertainty as sever people were arrested outside the offices of key republican senators. Kavanaugh has denied the claims that he groped her and pinned her to a bed at a high school party. A friend of kavanaugh tells cnn hes frustrated but wants to testify. Democratic senators said democrats deserve an investigation and protection. This is at this point intimidation of a witness and i call upon the fbi to investigate this occurrence of all of the threats that shes undergoing. Reporter they accused republicans of not taking her complaints seriously. They have decided. They dont want this investigation done. Reporter the republicans said democrats were posturing and pushed back on the notion beyond calling additional witnesses besides ford and kavanaugh. Senator john cornyn accused the democrats of hijacking the process for political interests. President trump stands behind kavanaugh. Such an outstanding man. Very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. Reporter so the president has unequivocally stood by his nominee, no question. We expect him to do that again. Jake, this is a very fluid situation to put it mildly there. Had been a sense here really as the week wore along that this was moving in the direction of kavanaughs eventual confirmation and if she testifies on monday it could change everything. So, again, judge kavanaugh still here at the white house as far as we know going through the possibility of preparing for a hearing, but the senators, the ranking democrat and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee will be talking this afternoon, jake, to decide if this hearing will happen and if they can give her the conditions and guarantees she wants. Again, jake, we dont know much more than that. Jeff zeleny, thanks so much. Lets talk about this all with my panel, kayou have new report reporter judge kavanaugh is getting Death Threats, too, and hes had protection since President Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court but its not just him, his family, his wife who manages is the town manager for the area that they live in in maryland is getting emails to her government email with all those graphic messages, some we cant even air because they are too graphic. One saying my condolences to you for being married to a rapist though you probably deserve it. Another saying fu and your rapist husband, all kinds of things that Ashley Kavanaugh is receiving and any of the Credible Threats made against someone who does have protection like what Brett Kavanaugh has right now, they say they have several threats they deem pretty credible. Several opened and closed since he was nominated in july to take this seat, but really the point of all of this is this drama weve seen play out in washington this week, with not just this allegation but also in these peoples personal lives, how its affecting them and their families as well, both receiving so many Death Threats like this. On that front, Susan Collins has also been reporting threats, and i was really disappointed to see democratic congressman Eric Swalwell say boo hoo to that. Boo hoo, excuse me, there was a congressional baseball shooting not that long ago. Rand palms neighbor broke his ribs. Violence is happening. It can happen here, and i hope to god they put this woman under some kind of protection and to dismiss this in this environment is really sick. We should say that congressman swalwell deleted the tweet and apologized for it. Yes. Youre right, he never should have sent that to begin with. Whats your response to the news that professor ford might testify next week, not monday, but if certain terms and conditions are met, if her safety is guaranteed and if in her view and lawyers view its a fair hearing . I think what dr. Ford is weighing is having her voice heard or not having her voice heard. I do think the republicans have been bullying her into saying its monday or no day, and because dr. Fords attorneys have not responded, i think she weighed her options and said, look, i can play ball or not play ball, and i think if i play ball my voice will be important and perhaps i can help changes things so if it was me i would not testify under the terms. The republicans on the committee have currently set out but im happy to see shes having her voice in the conversation and i look forward to seeing what she has to say. What do you say it all . I dont know how you can say that because nobody knows what the terms are. Im talking of the terms that were previously set out, she would have to come on monday this is a negotiation. Those are the terms im speaking. Chuck grassley, you know, reportedly has reached out to her and said well make this as comfortable as you would like. We would come to you. We want to hear your testimony so to say she wouldnt testify to the terms laid out we dont know the terms that are laid out. The Judiciary Committee, republicans, are going as far as they can to get her. They want to hear this and recognize her voice is very important, and if they dont hear her if they dont hear her, they will be painted with a very broad brush. Youre snickering. I dont think its sincere or serious. How could they want to hear from dr. Ford and effectively want to get answers, get to the bottom of this without hearing from mark judge, without hearing mark judge named by her as another guy in the room. Without hearing about the third individual in the room, without doing a Serious Investigation under oath, so thats why i snicker at it, again, i think the audacity of these men saying to dr. Ford its our way or the highway listen. She asked for this. Hold on. Everyone thought she was serious because she went to the members of congress. She is serious. She took a pall graph and talked to the Washington Post and then said im willing to testify. So republicans are perfectly within their rights to say, okay. Lets make this happen in a timely manner, and given the threats in this environment i think it becomes even more important that they reach a speedy resolution. Are you saying that it is in dr. Fords best interest and safety that republicans are asking her to testify on monday . That is a bunch of bs. Dont speak to me like that. Im interested in everyones safety. Dont play everything is bs. Dont go there. I am going there. The stakes are too high. I agree. Lets get everyone on the same page. The stakes are too high, but to assert that dr. Ford is getting is being treated fairly i think is not is disingenuous because so many republicans if so many republicans i dont know what they could do. Based on the records already on the record disparaging her character saying Brett Kavanaugh is going to be confirmed. How many poem are disparaging him without confirmed evidence that he did that . Lets not pretend this is happening one way. If you are accused of attempted rape or Sexual Assault there 50s no evidence are you back to saying you dont necessarily say you dont believe dr. Ford . Ive never said that. Dont miss interpret what im saying. Tell me what youre saying. I will be clear. Im confused right now. I believe something happened to her. I dont believe any evidence to show you it was definitively Brett Kavanaugh. Do we know that for a fact . Something happened, but what is the something simeone, how are you so positive . They are not dusted for prints. There stop for one second, stop. The two other people who are alleged to have been there both said cat forically we do not recall, we were not there. The Judiciary Committee can put them under oath. They can. And can bring them forward and put them under oath. They are not refusing. They are. Mark judge hold on, hold on. It is true. Mark judge said he doesnt want to be testify. He could be subpoenaed. He can be subpoenaed. He could be compelled to testify. Saying that dr. Ford is voluntarily saying ill come speak and other individuals are not, so all im saying is this. They have nothing further to say. There has been an attempt to make Brett Kavanaugh the martyr here. No, there isnt. No, thats not true. She has not been treated fairly and i think many people across the country who feel that way. She has gotten less than anita hill got. She can question how the white house is going to respond to this because they were feeling pretty confident if she didnt testify he would get confirmed because the biggest fear was her coming forward and giving a pretty credible account of what happens if she did come to testify on monday and now she does sound like she will testify under whatever conditions they will request of the Judiciary Committee it presents a whole new set of problems for the white house who were feeling pretty good about this and though the president has been pretty restrained aides say it could change and it may change if he does see her on camera making these allegations. It could be incredibly compelling. Youre exactly right. If you have professor ford up there giving a completely compelling case and making her case up there to the American Public and these senators, everything is a jump ball. And i think its fair to say that three of the republicans that were vacillating on kavanaugh, flake, collins and murkowski, all three of them came out and said i really need to hear from this woman, and so it seemed like it was going, if she wasnt going to testify, it was going towards kavanaugh is going to be confirmed. Now that she is going to testify, it seems perhaps next week but not monday, depends, then who knows whats going to happen. Everyone stick around. If Brett Kavanaugh is confirm, these allegations may not go away, the unprecedented move youll see first on the lead that the democrats are considering, and then a feud simmering inside the Trump Administration. What reportedly almost caused the head of fema to quit hours before Hurricane Florence hit. Stay with us. vo this is not a video game. 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So i talked to my doctor about humira. I learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. N Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Were getting new negotiating terms. Her lawyer says professor ford is willing to testify, but not on monday and only if the terms are fair and her safety is can be guaranteed. She strongly prefers an investigation before the testimony. What happens if those conditions shes had are not met and, therefore, what happens if she does not come forward . Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins me, is on the Judiciary Committee and is also a former prosecutor. Senator, thanks for joining us. Professor fords lawyer went on tv a few days ago and demanded her client get to testify before the senate and backed into a corner they arranged for a hearing where professor ford could tell her story, and now were told she might not tell her story. Whats happens if she does not tell her senate . Shes entitled to have the senate to do whatever is basic Due Diligence in any matter like this, and thats to do some modicum of investigation to look for either corroborating or exculpatory evidence, and in addition to being the u. S. Attorney, i was also the attorney general in my state. I had a whole Domestic Violence unit. We did cases with victims who allege Sexual Assault all the time, and its really, really important that you not just throw them into a hearing without having given them the effort of any corroboration effort at all. A prosecutor who did that in my office would have been fired and thats true in most offices around the country so theres real, really bad practice going on in the senate right now, and i think she and her lawyer are both very entitled to call that out and to maybe even decide not to come because its a rigged proceeding and the basic modicum of sincere investigation has not been attempted. Okay. But youre talking about when you were attorney general and u. S. Attorney, youre talking about bringing criminal charges against somebody. The statute of limitations it doesnt matter. If this were a civil case. Yeah. If that were a criminal case, the fact that its a senate hearing, none of that matters. This is about how you treat a witness. Someone claims they have been assaulted and you do not throw them into any forum without having given them the courtesy of investigation to find corroborating or exculpatory evidence and its particularly preposterous in this case when you have an fbi Background Investigation, this is part of this guys background and they suddenly decided they are going to halt the Background Investigation, it makes no sense and its appalling practice from a victim witness point of view. Okay. But the fbi has put her letter in their file and they have said that theres no federal crime for them to investigate. The white house, of course, as happened during the Clarence Thomas hearings, the white house could tell the fbi we want you to look into this as you are calling for, as other democrats on the senate are calling for, but the white house has made it clear thats not going to happen, and i dont see any republican senators joining thats wrong and they should be held accountable. I dont see any republican senators joining you and asking for that. What weve heard from people like jeff flake and Susan Collins and lisa murkowski, the people who said they want to hear from professor ford, they said she needs to show up on monday. Look, any prosecutor worth their salt knows you dont just throw your witness or your victim up on to the stand. You do investigation first. The fbi knows that perfectly well. If the fbi had a candidate for an fbi position who had a background check and at the last minute a new allegation like this was brought up, automatic pilot. The fbi goes back and completes the Background Investigation as to the new allegation. Every single time. The fact that they are not doing it this time is a very bad practice, and its a measure of how far they will go to try to stampede this nominee on to the court. How far the fbi will go . How far the republicans will go, that they have should down the fbi investigation and arent insisting that this victim get treated with the most basic respect. What do you mean they have shut down the fbi investigation. The fbi has said that they did what they needed to. Do they put the letter in the folder. The fbi has given the statement theres nothing for them to investigate. Theres no federal crime. Theres no federal crime. They are not doing a federal investigation, they are doing a Background Investigation, and in a Background Investigation you look into these allegations, and they are very clear things they should be doing. They should be looking at an interview under oath with the other person allegedly in the room, trying to find who the kids were downstairs in the house, see if people can corroborate her story that the two boys did go upstairs with her. All of this is basic. This is investigative 101. Theres nothing complicated about this except for the fact that they so badly want to ram kavanaugh on to the court that they are not doing elementary heres where i dont follow what youre saying because the fbi is saying that they have done what is standard procedure, that they have done it. Are you accusing the fbi of being politicized . No. How do you explain the fact that the phone says our job here is done, theres nothing else to do here . They have not done what is standard procedure. That simply isnt true. Theres no way that anybody who is getting a Background Investigation for a security clearance and this issue came up at the last minute that you wouldnt go back and say finish up your bi. Look at this last fact and get it done. Even john yew recognized that thats the case and recognized so pubically. You cant say that an investigation that never took place, that never looked for witnesses or looked for evidence is corroboration and they are doing a Background Investigation of this guy and it is in his background. Thats a really lame excuse on their part, really lame. Senator, the New York Times is reporting lawyers for kavanaughs accuser professor ford said in an email to the senate panel that testimony on monday is not possible. What do democrats do if she does not show up . What happens then . It seems pretty clear that republicans say if she doesnt show up, well have a vote on kavanaugh perhaps as soon as wednesday. Well, first of all, theres a factual dispute here which she said that Young Kavanaugh molested and assaulted her, and he says that he didnt. There was a witness in the room who has never been subjected to a proper investigative effort of any kind. He has not been interviewed. Hes never said anything under oath. There were supposedly other boys, theres a whole investigative process that can and should take place, and you know what, this is such bad practice that even if they were to ram this guy through as soon as democrats get gavels were going to want to get to the bottom of this. You cant ignore a crime victims claim that something happen, refuse to investigate, throw her up into the stand without the least bit of support for her, without the least bit of effort to corroborate what she says and then walk away from that has if youve behaved at all properly. There isnt a prosecutor or a Victim Advocate in the country who would tolerate that. Were out of time, but i want to make sure you understand what you just said. If the democrats win back the house and or the senate, democrats will investigate what happened, the charges that professor ford is laying out fine that means investigating a Supreme Court justice at the time . I am confident of that, and i think well also be investigating why the fbi stood down its Background Investigation when this came up in this particular background. Thank you so much. Hes the lawyer who once said he would take a bullet for President Trump. Now there are now reports that Michael Cohen has been doing a lot of talking, and it seems no topic is off limits. Stay with us. Im a fighter. Always have been. When i found out i had agerelated macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. My doctor and i came up with a plan. It includes preservision. Only Preservision Areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the National Eye Institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. Thats why i fight. Because its my vision. Preservision. Also, in a greattasting chewable. Were following some more breaking news. President trumps former personal attorney Michael Cohen has been interviewed multiple times by special counsel Robert Muellers team over the past few weeks, according to abc news. The interviews have lasted for hours and been focused on trumps dealings with russia and any possible conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and moscow. David urban, a former Trump Campaign head in pennsylvania, i know you dont know of anything and you dont think anything happened, but your response . I mean, this is not good news for the president. Its not surprising. Thats why he got a plea deal, right . Part of the plea deal you come tell us everything you know, and the mueller team is particularly interested obviously in russia and all things russia, and so, you know, i dont find anything completely surprising here at all that they want to talk about real estate dealings, any dealings the president may have had before he became president in russia, not surprising at all. I seem to remember that Michael Cohens deal was with the Southern District attorney of new york, not Robert Mueller, so hes voluntarily going perhaps because Michael Cohen is a little bit scorned, dont want to be on the other side of that, but also because he clearly feels he has something to contribute to the investigation, so we dont know what else the special counsel knows. We dont know the intricate details of what Michael Cohen told the special counsel, but i can say i think its damning and if i were donald trump id be extremely concerned that my goto fixer attorney is now singing like a canary to the special counsel. Funny how he went from being the president s attack dog to attack the president. Its not surprising. Its pretty surprise. This is someone who went to bat for donald trump multiple times, would have done anything for him. Clearly he had an epiphany. Not on his own choice. He pleaded guilty to eight counts, including two Campaign Finance violations having to do with hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and playboy employment of the year karen mcduke a. A lot of people were poopooing them, just Campaign Finance, not that big a deal. Apparently a big deal. And Michael Cohen knows a lot and handled a lot of things for the president , handled the things you dont want to come to light. Not like he was handling everything above ground. You dont have a fixer, a lawyer, a banker, whoever, but concern is its not just Michael Cohen. There are so many people it seems to be pretty much everyone in the president s orbit, Paul Manafort agreeing to cooperate with the Justice Department and presumably Robert Mueller as well. One of the other things thats interesting about this, of course, is that as was noted by symone, Michael Cohen felt scorned. President trump was not loyal back to him during this investigation, he felt. I think the fact that Michael Cohen is speaking so freely strikes so deeper into the heart trump universe, not only trump universe as a Business Enterprise but the trump family. Abc news is reporting that Michael Cohen is also speaking to new york investigators who are looking into the Trump Charity so he has deep knowledge of how the trump family works, and we know how deeply trump cares about that, and i think that why he may be exceptionally concerned at this moment. Hes a black box. Nobody knows whats in there. Lets turn to this claim by jay sekulow, that abc news, that nbc news falsely edited the president s comments that russia was on his mind when he fired fbi director comey. Here is what President Trump said to lester holt. I was going to fire comey knowing there was no good time to do it, and, in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. And here is President Trumps attorney jay sekulow claiming that not everything is 100 when it comes to this interview. You know when there are interviews there are edits and ill tell you without disclosing any detail when you review the entire transcript its very clear as to what happened. If this is this how jay sekulow wanted to end his career as a good lawyer . Look, i have to law of because where was this defense a year ago . Where was this defense a year ago . This is clearly something that donald trump himself drummed up in a back corner in tweeting from his bed early one morning. The reason why what happens here in this interfew a interview that Brian Stelter pointed out, the interview continues and i know by doing so it might make this investigation longer. Yeah, it did. And i think that when sekulow was doing was throw a little dust up in the air, chum the waters. Specifically trying to throw dust on this issue because it gets to obstruction of justice which also mueller is talking to Michael Cohen about because thats where hes going to really get hung up. Obstruction of justice is what they are worried about. This isnt true. This is a claim that the president and his attorneys are making up and trotting his attorney out there to say on National Television and its not true. Its parsed. Well, what sekulow is saying later in the interview. Its not parsed. Its the president saying heres why i fired him and jay sekulow, yeah, you can their from the president , why i fired him, the russia investigation on my mind when i fired james comey. You dont need to look anywhere else that came from the president s mouth himself, but weve seen this from not just jay sekulow and the president before, doing it with the will access Hollywood Tape which you can hear him on audio, the president with a very distinct voice making these comments which he later apologized for on camera and now he tells people, you know, actually, ive heard that wasnt my voice on that audio. But this is one of the trump teams favorite tricks. You write about that in your book. One of the specific tricks in your book, evidence will be forthcoming to prove me to be right. It never comes. This is another reiteration. The president says something and the people around him are trying to figure out a way to make it true. Obviously this is, you know, the critical this is the nub of the entire case here. The obstruction charge. Mens rea when he fired comb co, has an article 2 right. With corrupt intent, corrupt intent will be incredibly difficult to prove, with the lester holt tape, no tape, with full tape. Its very difficult. Firing him because of the russia investigation. Thats pretty clear. We have to point out Rudy Giuliani has been arguing against a sitdown with Robert Mueller because they said they have heard the president s answers on why they fired james comey and now they are trying to litigate why he fired james comey. Because he wants to get was there corrupt intent . The president is going to say no. Well keep talking. President trump called him a liar and suggested his father was involved in the kennedy as in addition and why is senator cruz now calling on the trumps for help . Stay with us. Paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. You shouldnt be rushed into booking a hotel. With expedias addon advantage, booking a flight unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. Addon advantage. Only when you book with expedia. From lyin ted to letting sleeping dogs lie, senator ted cruz turning to President Trump and his children for help with less than 50 days until election 2018. Despite the nasty past cruz is desperate to keep his senate seat and the president is desperate to keep the state red. Donald trump jr. And President Trump himself are expected to stump for cruz. Amanda, you once worked for senator cruz. I dont need to remind you of the litany of nasty things. Got it memorized. That cruz and trump said about each other. One side was more deserved than the other. And cruz said some nasty stuff, too. What does this say . Can he not win without President Trump . Is it really that tight a race . The Republican Party base has chased a lot. The tea party base that propelled ted cruz to victory in 2012 is different now and its trumps base and its important for cruz to show he has a united front with the president and thats all the troubles are put behind them. A new quinnipiac point finds cruz is nine points ahead of beto orourke, cruz at 54 and orourke is at 45 . Real clear politics does the average of all the polling data and shows cruz up by 4. 5 points. Do you think this is real . Do you think beto orourke ive been hearing this a long time how texas is going to go blue. Texas can go blue. Beto orourke has a real chance, hes on the ground speaking directly to the people and they are running a great ground game, and i do believe theres going to be a surge of unlikely voters to vote in the midterm election, and if beto can turn those folks out in texas and they check the box for him, the issue is that folks are not necessarily like a governors race in texas is not going to bring the people out. This is the race among some or congressional races on the democratic side. They will bring folks out so he has a chance. The governor, greg abbott, is very popular. Hes extremely popular in texas. Do you think ted cruz is kind of in trouble or is this acting like hes in trouble . Remember the peanuts . Lucy and the football. Right. Its the football. You keep hearing in texas how democrats are going to sweep in and take over, and it never materializes. Look, i think beto orourke is a good candidate, better than most. I think he does inspire the base and they will get out, but i think youll see probably these numbers six, seven points at the end. I would like to remind folks ted cruz is out there saying all kinds of things, talking about beto orourke is going to ban barbecue from texas. That was a joke. The gop down there, the Republican Party he does have a sense of humor. They are desperate. This is desperate. They have been going after him a lot. Im really interested in the cruz trump relationship, because cruz didnt officially endorse trump at the convention. I was there. I was there. Its always so stunning to see that weve gone from that to now, the president bringing one of his favorite people in his life, his daughter to come campaign for him. You know, just very telling to see how that relationship went from so poorly and seen that with President Trump and senator lindy graham. They were feuding with each other, and the president gave out his phone number at a rally and now they have somehow fix that had relationship and now were seeing that here. Also seen this happen in nevada. The president is going to leave any moment to go to a rally in las vegas for republican senator dean heller, the incumbent facing a contentious challenge, heller called him a great leader. No trump fan in 2016. He actually said he disagrees with President Trump like 99 of the time is this just what you have to do if youre a republican to get reelected . Look, im not a republican, but part of this is really. I got a card. We can register you. Clearly the Republican Party doesnt know how to stand up to bullies and if they did we wouldnt be in the situation. Its very dangerous for dean heller. A lot of independents in nevada. Jackie rosen and many folks have been firing up the Democratic Base there. Dean heller is in trouble. He might lose his seat. I dont see how donald trump necessarily helps him in the state. Jake, because Hillary ClintonHillary Clinton won nevada. I mean, like it has its been close every time. Nevada is a tough state. But it has gone democratic. Is embracing donald trump if youre dean heller. The Republican Party is a far different party. This president owns this party so heller has one chance, this is it. May not be the best chance, but thats his chance to win in nevada. As they say in vegas, double down. Absolutely. Thats the hill hes going to die on. If you can get people to turn out to a rally and stand in line and wait four hours, they are going to come out and work. Thats not true. I worked for bernie sanders. Thats not true. They care less about the candidates and more about President Trump airing his grievances of the week. May mention a line or two about whoever the candidate, is but its not often about them. I do want to get your response to what senator Sheldon Whitehouse said earlier in the show about that accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Whitehouse suggesteding is weve not heard before from democrats about how they are going to when and if they recapture the house or senate they will investigate who professor ford is saying. Take a listen. As soon as democrats get gavels well want to get to the bottom of this. If the democrats win back the house and or the senate, democrats will investigate what happened, the charges that professor ford is laying out, even if that means investigating a Supreme Court justice at the time. I am confident of that. And he said hes going democrats are going to investigate why in his view the fbi stood down on investigating what allegedly happened. Are you surprised by that . Not surprised. What you hear senator whitehouse saying if and when the democrats retake the house and maybe even the senate they will exercise the oversight that the republican counterparts have not. Take it to the bank, jake, it will happen and thats why a lot of republicans on the Judiciary Committee think its just its this is a partisan effort here. They dont really want to hear professor ford. Theres going to be an investigation no matter what happens. An investigation into potentially sitting Supreme Court justice and to what he did in 1982. Does that surprise you . Yes, but i think its going to send shock waves through everybody that went to that school because a full investigation means they are going to run down and canvas everybody that went to a party in that neighborhood, and if you want to put fear in the hearts of all the flaurs towlawyers in just did is it. What almost caused the head of fema to quit during a hurricane emergency. Stay with us. To look at me now, you dont see psoriasis. You see clear skin. You see me. But if you saw me before cosentyx. I was covered. It was awful. But i didnt give up. I kept fighting. I got clear skin with cosentyx. 3 years and counting. Clear skin can last. See if cosentyx could make a difference for you. Cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis find clear skin that can last. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx, you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. 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Kirstjen nielsen and fema chief brock long put on a professional face, but behind the scenes the newspaper reports the feud is reportedly so bitter brock long wanted to quit this week. Lets bring in cnns joe johns. Joe, the friction, were told, is reaching a boiling point at a pretty critical time. Reporter it does look like a tense situation, jake. The current head of fema is under investigation, watching his back. His boss, the Homeland Security secretary, watching every move raising questions whether washington infighting could become a distraction for the people who are supposed to be fighting floods and saving lives. This is a partnership, and it takes everything from neighbor helping neighbor all the way to the federal government. Reporter as the nation braced for Hurricane Florence it seems the two officials in charge of federal response werent pleased with their partnership. According to the Washington Post, fema chief brock long and his boss, Homeland Security secretary kirstjen nielsen, are so at odds with each other that long considered leaving just as the storm peaked. Fema officials who are close to long say that he thinks secretary nielsen is out to get him, that she is trying to push him out of his job. Reporter fueling the reported feud, an investigation involving longs use of government vehicles opened by the dhs inspector general. Those vehicles are to supply me with secure coms. I would never intensionally violate any rules, you know, that i was aware of. Reporter the post reports nielsen chided long for taking government vehicles on lengthy trips between d. C. And his home in north carolina. Now he could face criminal charges. Hes been blindsided by these charges. The idea that she would maybe either, you know, keep this from him or allow this to go forward is what was particularly upsetting. Reporter nielsen and long have put on a united front for storm victims. I have full confidence in all fema leadership. Reporter but secretarys visit to the region came as a surprise to fema despite regular calls between her and long, this after reports that nielsen wanted him out prior to the storm. Ive never been asked to resign. Secretary nielsen and i talk every day. We have a very professional, functional relationship. Reporter long has been the face of the administrations storm response since the summer of 2017, a wellregarded leader through Hurricane Maria and beyond. A man who has become really famous, or so they tell me, mr. Long. We appreciate it very much. Reporter and has Hurricane Season reaches its peak the number two spot at fema is vacant, so what happens if long leaves . The number three ranking official, he is a close friend of nielsens. If long is to go down, then essentially a close friend of Kirstjen Nielsens would take over at theme ark. Reporter we reached out today to sources at Homeland Security, fema and the inspector generals office. So far no comment from any of them. Jake . Thanks so much. Turning now to our pop culture lead. When cnns Anthony Bourdain died in june he took with him his incredible sense offed a ven tower and exploration, and before he left us bourdain took the viewers around the world one more Time Starting with a trip with kenya, Emmy Award Winning host united shades of america home w. Kamu bell. See an elephant . Right there. Oh, yeah. Even if you see them in a zoo closer, they are behind bars. It just doesnt feel connected, but i feel like were right here. Hes actually going some someplace. Not just walking in a circle. Actually got stuff to do. The fact of the matter is the these magnificent animals would most likely be gone without the interception of man. People pay a lot of money to come see these animals. Without that money, the overwhelming likelihood is that they would have been wiped out long ago, particularly this one. Whoa. Thats thats a rhino. Wow be sure to tune in this sunday at 9 00 p. M. Eastern for the premiere of the cnn original series Anthony Bourdain, parts unknown. Follow me on facebook and twitter jaketapper and we actually read the tweet. Our coverage on cnn continues right now. Happening now. Breaking news. Talking to mueller. A Major Development in the russia investigation. President trumps former personal lawyer reportedly sitting for hours of interviews with the special counsel Robert Muellers team. Open to testifying. The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of Sexual Assault three decades ago is now open to talking to lawmakers about it but not monday as the Judiciary Committee chairman has demanded. Protests and pushback. Opponents of the kavanaugh nomination target the offices of swing vote republican senators leading to dozens of arrests while kavanaugh supporters work to push past the controversy to a vote. And plain theft. A shocking Airport Security breach. A man jumps an airport fence in the middle of the